Culture is humans choosing what will remain raw andwhat will be cooked within our social group.

*Note, however, that culture does not require a written language

B. Sacredness

As human beings attempted to make sense of the world, they began to interpret and imbue the world with symbolic meaning.

Observation: some objects are special or useful in the big wide world

Interpretation: we therefore set special objects aside for cultural reasons

The word “sacred” comes from the Latin, meaning to set apart from

Sacred: Totem

Observation: some objects are special and “good” for the group

Interpretation: those objects are given special status

Sacred: Taboo

Observation: some objects and activities are special and “bad” for the group

Interpretation: those objects and activities are given special status as well

Religions of Rome, 1998

There were no “special institutions and activities set aside from daily life and designed to pursue religious objectives; but rather a situation in which religion and its associated rituals were embedded in all institutions and activities.”

1534 | England separates from the Roman Catholic Church. The idea spreads across Northern Europe that communities should choose their own version of Christianity.

1555 | Peace of Augsburg determines local German princes would decide which religion his people would follow

A variety of denominations are formed

1700s | English encyclopedias and dictionaries describe “religion” as the private belief of having reverence toward God. This privatization of belief is in part what enabled Americans to conceive of a nation of citizens who could all belong to different religions. This was a very new and radical idea at the time.

1738 | Example: John Wesley describes having a personal religious experience and goes on to found the Methodist denomination apart from the Church of England.

Religion in Protestant areas becomes more about a state of mind than a series of actions

Once Christians broadened the idea of “true” religion to different denominations, religion continued to expand